A DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a Blu-ray Disc® and the like are commonly used as a medium for recording various contents including music, movie and the like. These information recording media include a ROM-type medium on which data is already recorded and additional data cannot be written; and an R-type, RE-type and the like on which data can be written. A data-writable information recording medium enables a content recorded on another medium to be copied or moved. Also, the data-writable information recording medium enables a content to be downloaded for recording, for example, from a network or using an apparatus installed in a public place.
The content recording media also include a hard disk and a flash memory as well as the above-described DVD and Blu-ray Disc®.
The aspects of the process for recording a content on a recording medium may include the following, for example:
(a) copying or moving from a medium (e.g., ROM disc) on which a content is already recorded to another medium;
(b) downloading a content from a server for recording; and
(c) recording a content using a terminal installed in a store or public place.
For example, the above processes may be envisaged.
However, many of contents such as music data and image data are under copyrights, distribution rights or the like owned by their authors or distributors. Therefore, when a content is provided to a user, a certain limitation is generally imposed on the use of the content such that the user may use the content only when the user is given an authorized right to use the content, and unauthorized duplication and the like are not allowed.
For example, one known standard for content usage control is AACS (Advanced Access Content System). According to AACS standard, performing content copying between media mentioned in (a) above requires obtaining copying permission information from a management server. Thus, the copying is permitted only under predetermined management. This copying processing is referred to as Managed Copy (MC).
The content providing scheme mentioned in (b) above—content providing by downloading—is referred to as EST (Electric Sell Through). The content providing by a shared terminal mentioned in (c) above is referred to as MoD (Manufacturing on Demand). According to AACS standard, these processings also need to be performed according to a predetermined rule.
The overview of the following three processings is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2:
(a) Managed Copy (MC),
(b) EST (Electric Sell Through) and
(c) MoD (Manufacturing on Demand).
(a) Managed Copy (MC)
Managed Copy (MC) is a processing in which, for example, as shown in (a) of FIG. 1, a user 1 sets an information recording medium (disc) 3 on which a content is already recorded in an information processing apparatus 2 for data recording/reproducing, then the content read from the information recording medium (disc) 3 is copied to a second information recording medium 4 such as an R/RE-type data-writable disc, hard disk and flash memory.
In order to perform this content copying, the data recording/reproducing apparatus 2 needs to connect with a management server 5 via a network 6 to obtain content copying permission from the management server 5.
Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which one information processing apparatus, a single apparatus, performs content copying between media, another configuration may be used in which one apparatus for loading a medium as copying source and another apparatus for loading a medium as copying destination are connected by, for example, a USB cable.
(b) EST (Electric Sell Through)
The processing of downloading a content from a server and recording the content to an information recording medium is referred to as EST (Electric Sell Through). EST is a processing in which, as shown in (b) of FIG. 2, a user 11 sets a medium, for example, R- or RE-type disc 12 (data-writable medium) owned by the user 11 in an information processing apparatus 13 of a PC or the like owned by the user 11, then a content is received from a content server (EST server) 14 via a network 15 and recorded.
(c) MoD (Manufacturing on Demand).
The content providing by a shared terminal is referred to as MoD (Manufacturing on Demand). As shown in (c) of FIG. 2, in Mod, a user 21 uses a content server 24 as a terminal installed in, for example, a convenience store or a public place such as station to purchase a content by recording the content to a medium. More specifically, Mod is a processing in which a data-writable medium owned by the user 21, for example, R- or RE-type disc 22 is set in the content server (Mod server) 24 as the terminal installed in a convenience store 23, and a desired content is recorded to the disc 22 through an operation, such as content selection, by the user 21.
These processings (a) to (c) are described in, for example, Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2008-98765).
In this way, the user can record a content to a data-recordable medium and use (for example, reproduce) the recorded content. However, when the content is, for example, a copyright-protected content or the like, usage control needs to be performed in order to prevent illegal use.
As described above, one known standard for content copyright protection technology is AACS (Advanced Access Content System). AACS standard configures usage control in which a usage control information (Usage Rule) defined for each content and a content is used according to the usage control information (Usage Rule). Furthermore, AACS standard provides strict usage control in which a content is configured to be an encrypted content by dividing the content into units, defining a unit key for each unit, and allowing only a specified user to obtain the unit keys.
When a disc on which a content is recorded is a medium allowing only reproducing and not allowing recording of new data, such as ROM-type disc, additional recording of a new content or editing will not be performed on the medium. Thus, the content-specific usage control information (Usage Rule) for each content recorded on the medium and the unit keys can be recorded together to the medium and provided to the user.
On the other hand, when a content is recorded on a medium such as R- or RE-type data-writable disc, hard disk and flash memory, the content recorded on the medium is not fixed, and updating such as recording of a new content or deleting of a recorded content can be performed. So, usage control information and unit keys also need to be updated according to the update of the content stored in the medium.
Thus, when recording a content to a medium, the user needs to perform complicated operations such as recording various ancillary data for each recorded content as well as recording the content. So, for example, in performing Managed Copy (MC) described above, a program in which a series of processing sequences is defined in advance is generally used to perform copying.
For example, many of information processing apparatuses conforming to AACS standard store a program (a player application) for performing Managed Copy (MC) described above. When using such an AACS-certified apparatus to perform Managed Copy (MC), the user runs the player application stored in the apparatus. When the program is run, a series of processings, including connecting with a management server and obtaining copying permission information from the management server, is performed, then copying is performed with the copying permission information obtained.
Even when a content recorded on a Blu-ray Disc® is copied to another medium, Managed Copy (MC) is performed using the player application stored in the AACS-certified apparatus.
For a method for starting this player application, the followings are permitted by AACS:
(a) starting the player application from a menu presented on the UI of the apparatus, and
(b) starting BD-J (Blu-ray Disc Java®) application, which is a Java® application program stored on a disc on which a content is recorded, then starting the player application through a BD-J application.
AACS stipulates the use of one of (a) and (b) above.
The player application is a program stored in an apparatus that performs content reproducing/recording and designed to be commonly used for various contents. On the other hand, the BD-J application can be recorded on a disc and can also be configured specific to each content recorded on the disc. In other words, the BD-J application is a program that a content author can design according to the content recorded on the disc.
Thus, the BD-J application is a program that can be designed with some freedom by the content author and can be variously configured according to various configuration of the content. So, if the BD-J application is configured to perform Managed Copy (MC), the content author can also design the BD-J application to perform processing unique to each content according to the content configuration or the like.
However, in Managed Copy (MC), when the copying destination medium of a content is, for example, a freely portable medium such as R/RE-type data-writable disc, inadequate management of the copying destination medium may allow unauthorized use of the content.